Muddle, Not Fiddle
by EvilFuzzy9
Summary: Indominus rex is a clever girl, and there is no mistaking that. But... maybe she's not entirely as clever as you may think.
1. Pattern Recognition

**Muddle, Not Fiddle**

A _Jurassic World_ thingy

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

Rating: T

Genre: Sci-Fi/Parody

Characters/Pairings: Indominus rex; [N/A]

Summary: Indominus rex is a clever girl, and there is no mistaking that. But... maybe she's not _entirely_ as clever as you may think.

* * *

"You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity."

\- Robert A. Heinlein

* * *

 _Indominus_ _rex._

That was what the scientists of International Genetics named her: she was the Savage King, fierce and untameable. They engineered her to be the new star attraction at Jurassic World, a super predator exceeding both _Velociraptor_ and _Tyrannosaurus_ ; she was designed to be big, brutal, and brilliant.

A natural-born killer.

And she was indeed very large, and very strong, with a multitude of abilities and adaptations that very few could have predicted. She was ferocious, tenacious, rapacious, and cunning. She could camouflage herself better than any natural terrestrial animal, modulate her body's thermal output, unhinge her jaws to swallow smaller prey whole, and solve even highly complex problems.

That last one was perhaps the most dangerous.

No doubt about it, she was intelligent, a bona fide dino-genius. Her brain was highly sophisticated for a theropod, with an IQ to match modern day corvids – and that's a damned impressive bench mark, for those of you unfamiliar with relative animal intelligence.

So, yes. Indy – _Indominus rex_ – was a damn smart dinosaur.

But, with that said...

Maybe she was not _quite_ as smart as some people might think.

* * *

Indy paced her cage, swinging a large and spiky head this way and that.

Nostrils flared. Huffing and snuffling.

She grunted, bobbing her head as she walked, smacking her chops and licking between irregular, serrated fangs. She could still feel a few bits of flesh sticking between her teeth from her last meal, and some compulsive part of her brain told her to lick at the mildly irritated gums.

Blink. Blink.

Indy's pupils contracted minutely as she moved her bulk into a patch of open sunlight. It felt hot on her skin. Irritating.

She moved back into the shade.

It was hot. She could "see" the heat of her surroundings, and it was considerable. The trees were cool though, somewhat, and damp. Moist.

She rubbed her flank against a rough-barked cycad, feeling a bothersome itch.

That felt good.

Back and forth, a few more times, she grated her hide on the tree trunk. Scratching the itch, rubbing off whatever it was that irritated her skin. Trying to, at least. But she felt another slight itch elsewhere, this one underneath the scales.

Absently, she raked one of her clawed forelimbs over the spot. This didn't get rid of the itch, but it felt a little better.

 _"Feeding time again, huh?"_

She stiffened up. Cocked her head to one side. The sound was soft, barely audible.

Sss...

Sniff, sniff.

Blood. Warm blood, fresh. Meat.

It was a faint scent, but she could pick it up. Underneath, there was also an oily smell, smoky and metallic. Unpleasant, industrial, like so much else about her surroundings. Like the sheer stone faces that hemmed her into this small, increasingly small and uncomfortable place. But underneath _that_ was something salty, musky: a curiously subtle mammalian pungence.

Familiar. Strange.

Meat eaters? They stank a little like that, but not a lot.

Possibly. She didn't know. But they didn't eat her meat, either way. They were small and warm, especially next to the cooling carcasses that popped up whenever she caught their scents.

Vermin, maybe.

 _Whir, whir, whir._ A mechanical noise. The scents grew stronger, the flow of air changed minutely.

Indy shifted her head through the foliage, scanning in the direction of this sound with the pit organs in her muzzle. She felt warm blood. Live animals, if small.

Meat. Food.

 _Where did it come from?_

This thought, a rudimentary ponderance, struck Indy even as she began to stalk in the direction of her next snack.

She knew this pit intimately, every nook and cranny. The sheer stone faces seemed impenetrable, with no gaps or openings. Even that one spot that looked open actually wasn't, which she'd learned when trying to snatch one of those curiously elusive vermin.

She saw them up there, from time to time. Could they see her?

She didn't know for sure. But they could hear her, sometimes. Occasionally they quailed or flinched when she roared. A few didn't react much, though. Just stood there.

That annoyed her, even if she wasn't sure why.

It was odd. Vexing. Inconsistent.

Sniff, sniff.

Blood. It was close. Very close.

Indy's pace quickened. Thump, thump, thump. She felt the ground shake under her footfalls.

She heard noises in the direction of her food. High pitched, squeaky. Rapid and frantic, panicky. She saw movement, quick and sudden. Something fleeing.

Instinctively, she gave chase.

Her heart thundered in her chest, a mighty percussion. Vast strides swallowed the distance in no time at all. She saw one of those small creatures, "saw" its heat, smelled the blood on it. Blood from her food.

Acting on reflex, she swung her head down and snapped up the animal in a single, fluid motion. It was over in an instant.

Crunch. Gulp.

Screams broke out, shrill and irritating. The other vermin continued to run.

This piqued something in Indy.

They were running.

But...

Running... _where?_

Where could they possibly hide from her in this small place? There was no escape for them possible, right? She knew her territory inside and out. There were no burrows for vermin of this size to vanish through

So why were they running?

Why.

...why?

For a moment, Indy teetered on the brink of epiphany, inches from transcending the shackles of mere beasthood, ever so close to a line of inquiry that could push her to contemplation of the abstract, introspection on the nature of "self", and the discovery of complex sapient thought patterns.

Then a fly landed below her eye, and she forgot what she was thinking about. She shook her head and roared irritably, snarling and swiping at the bug. Almost, she missed seeing the remaining vermin vanish into an opening in what should have been a sheer stone face.

Blink.

Indy stared.

Whir, whir, whir. That familiar mechanical noise, the sound she heard before and after every appearance of food.

The opening disappeared. Closed.

Had _Idominus rex_ possessed the facial structure and social conditioning of a human being, she might have frowned thoughtfully.

Huh.

Where _did_ her food come from?

Then another fly landed on her snout.

She snorted and irately shook her head, completely forgetting this line of inquiry.

* * *

A/N: I dunno, _I. rex_ is obviously a very intelligent animal in the movie... but I think some people might have rather **excessive** estimations of that intellect, judging by how her TV Tropes character entry reads.

So I suppose you could say this fic... thingy... collection? Is a response to that. Almost a preemptive response, haha, considering that the movie was only released yesterday. I caught the second airing at my local theater, walking all the way down.

And this is a big deal for me, I should probably point out, because the _last_ movie I went out of my way to see in theaters was the _Simpsons Movie_. So, yeah.

I was whistling the theme tune all the way home.

GO SEE JURASSIC WORLD, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY. SERIOUSLY. DO IT NOW.

OR AT THE NEAREST CONVENIENT TIME.

I DON'T KNOW.

 **Updated:** 6-12-15

 **TTFN and R &R!**

– — ❤


	2. Language Comprehension

**Muddle, Not Fiddle**

A _Jurassic World_ thingy

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

Rating: T

Genre: Sci-Fi/Parody

Characters/Pairings: Indominus rex; [N/A]

Summary: Indominus rex is a clever girl, and there is no mistaking that. But... maybe she's not _entirely_ as clever as you may think.

* * *

"...misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent."

\- Goethe

* * *

 _"ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US."_

Echo stared at Delta. Delta stared at Charlie. Charlie stared at Blue.

And Blue stared up at their quarry, their prey. Indominus rex.

 _"I... beg your pardon, good madame?"_ Blue chirped. _"Are you speaking to us?"_

 _"I do believe she is one of those ruffians I've heard tell of, old chap,"_ Delta honked. _"Best keep a clear distance."_

Indy grunted, huffing and chuffing, a deep rumbling imitation of the Velociraptors' vocalizations.

 _"MY HOVERCRAFT IS FULL OF EELS."_

Charlie yelped. _"She's mocking us, isn't she? Hark, what drivel she spouts!"_

Echo barked, baring her teeth. _"Zut! On t'a bercé trop près du mur?"_

There was a brief pause.

 _"...¿Dónde está la biblioteca?"_ Indy ventured.

 _"Merde!"_ the raptors snarled in chorus.

In the bushes, hiding beside Owen, Barry's expression became one of unease.

"Something's wrong..." he said. "They're communicating."

The raptors pounced on Indominus.

"...oh. Maybe not."

* * *

A/N: Did you know that at least some species of bird have proper languages with learned grammar and syntax? The key word being _learned_. Specimens raised in isolation from natural or control populations are, at best, simply unintelligible to their fellows. At worst, their mangled bird-gibberish will elicit reactions of outright hostility.

 **Updated:** 6-13-15

 **TTFN and R &R!**

– — ❤


	3. Interaction and Experimentation

**Muddle, Not Fiddle**

A _Jurassic World_ thingy

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

Rating: T

Genre: Sci-Fi/Parody

Characters/Pairings: Indominus rex; [N/A]

Summary: Indominus rex is a clever girl, and there is no mistaking that. But... maybe she's not _entirely_ as clever as you may think.

* * *

"Let us not attribute to malice and cruelty what may be referred to less criminal motives. Do we not often afflict others undesignedly, and, from mere carelessness, neglect to relieve distress?"

\- Jane West

* * *

Indy burst through the trees and into the open valley, glorying in the ability to run freely. ROAR, she bellowed in her jubilation, thundering down the grassy slope. The sun was hot, but she didn't care.

There were so many things outside of her old home! Such things as she could never have imagined!

So vast was the world outside that enclosure. So wide and open and filled with life.

Titanic creatures lifted small heads on long necks. Rumble, rumble, their bodies seemed to shake with a deep bass vocalization. Littler creatures with broad frills and many horns stamped and bleated in response, and creatures on two legs honked and hooted in excitement.

ROAR, Indy greeted these animals. The ground shook beneath her. She waved her arms and roared, eager for new stimulus.

The tiniest ones chirped and scattered from the rest, darting off at an impressive pace. The biggest ones wheeled around to face away from Indy, long and whiplike tails beginning to sway back and forth.

 _Bark, bark,_ went the horned and frilled ones as they lowered their heads and scooted together, stamping and snorting and nervously bellowing. They closed ranks between the big ones, barking and presenting their horns.

Indy ran forward, heedless.

The horned ones inched back, barking at a higher pitch. Wavering.

ROOOAAAR!

Indy barreled closer, opening her mouth wide.

The horned ones broke rank, yelping in panic. Wheeling around, they took off in a stampede. _Bark, bark, bark!_ Their whines and bellows were deafening as they fled. And the big ones started to panic as well, then began to scatter apart.

Indy darted towards the nearest one. She ducked and sidestepped a swinging tail, eagerly baring her fangs and brandishing her claws. She charged alongside the animal and bashed her head against its hindquarters, raking her claws over its massive flank.

Exploring, experimenting, interacting.

Claws like scythes tore through flesh, ripping up the Apatosaur's side. Jaws opened wide, impossibly so, head lunging forward and sinking a multitude of serrated teeth into one of its forelegs.

Like a child, Indy had a compulsion to touch and taste and feel every new thing she found. Reflexively she bit down on the animal's leg, tasting blood, and ripped her head back.

The beast wailed pitifully as it stumbled, its leg hobbled, and it crashed onto its side. Its own weight bashed it down onto the earth, hard.

Curious, Indy ducked her head to bite at the animal's exposed underbelly. She ripped her claws through flesh, drawing more blood. The smell excited her, and she tore and slashed, listening to the animal bellow and moan.

It thrashed beneath her for a time, but its movements became slow, then stopped altogether. It went silent.

Indy stepped back, perplexed.

Why had it stopped? She was having such fun playing with it!

Huffing, she looked around, spotting more of the big creatures skirting around her, staying clear of their fallen fellow as they browsed from the nearby treetops.

ROAR!

Indy charged, looking for a new plaything.

* * *

A/N: Haha, this one was rather dark. And more of an alternate character interpretation than anything, with Indominus having the mentality of a child who hasn't quite grasped the difference between toys and living creatures. Less a sadistic evil genius, and more a toddler who pulls on the cat's tail.

...then disembowels the cat to find out what's inside it, then gets bored when it stops moving and looks for another cat to "play" with.

So, probably a serial killer in the making.

 **Updated:** 6-16-15

 **TTFN and R &R!**

– — ❤


	4. Planning and Decision Making

**Muddle, Not Fiddle**

A _Jurassic World_ thingy

By

EvilFuzzy9

* * *

Rating: T

Genre: Sci-Fi/Parody

Characters/Pairings: Indominus rex; [N/A]

Summary: Indominus rex is a clever girl, and there is no mistaking that. But... maybe she's not _entirely_ as clever as you may think.

* * *

"Many journalists have fallen for the conspiracy theory of government. I do assure you that they would produce more accurate work if they adhered to the cock-up theory."

\- Bernard Ingham

* * *

 _Scratch, scratch, scratch._

Indy was restless. There was nothing to do. She hadn't caught any of those tiny creatures in her home in a while now, and she was bored, bored, _bored_.

So, like any bored youth, she channeled her nervous energy into a less than constructive outlet.

Her claws gouged the wall, digging into it. She raked razor sharp talons across stone and wood, scoring deep marks. It was a single section of wall, one close to the last opening she had spotted.

It was a compulsive, nervous habit, a sort of tactile catharsis for the cooped up hybrid, the only way to vent the growing stress from this confined living space. There was no new stimulus, no interaction, just the same thing day in and day out.

Had she possessed the logical comprehension and capacity for such advanced secondary emotions, Indy might have regretted killing and eating her sibling, if only for the fact that it meant she was alone in here. But she did not have quite that kind of awareness, and by this point Indy barely even remembered the other animal.

As it was, she simply scratched the wall up a little more, watching the claw marks climb a good measure of its height. Then, when she felt slightly less anxious, she turned and went back into the cover of the trees. She felt drowsy.

Lying down in the shade, Indy nodded off into a light sleep.

Unbeknownst to her, certain hormonal fluctuations induced by these stressful living conditions combined with her present somnolence triggered a curious adaptation within her physiology, causing her infrared output to blend into the ambient temperature of the surrounding foliage.

She had no way of knowing the trouble this would cause.

* * *

 _"It depends."_

 _"On what?_

 _"On what kind of animal they cooked up in that lab."_

Indy stirred to wakefulness, blinking away her sleep. She heard a foreign sound, squeaky sort of vocalizations.

Familiar. Something she hadn't heard so clearly in a while.

She stood slowly, languidly stretching. Taking a few moments to catch up with the rest of her body, a sleepy brain moved like molasses as she gradually woke.

Snuff. Snuff.

She perked up, detecting a familiar scent. Oily, musky, salty. Mammalian, warm-blooded, vaguely carnivorous.

 _Human_ , not that she actually associated any such word with the creatures.

For a moment, she wondered if more food had come in. Such scent usually hung around her meals in faint traces.

But, no. This was stronger. Clearer, with no death-stink or reek of slaughtered kine to obscure it.

 _HISS POP CRACK SSssss._

Harsh and soft, yet distinct in how unnatural it was, a static noise reached her perception. More of those vocalizations, but strange. Broken up. Fake-seeming, and scratchy.

Curious, she moved in the direction of the noise. Trees shook with her passing.

She perceived a trio of vermin skulking by the wall she'd clawed up.

Well, now, _this_ was something new...

* * *

Indy scratched at an itch in her back, strolling aimlessly through the forest. Her flanks were vaguely sore from bursting through that narrow opening, chasing that one vermin that managed to vanish.

She huffed, her guts churning and grumbling as they set to work on digesting her most recent meal. Two out of three wasn't bad, and she felt rather full besides. A bit sleepy. It wasn't a feast by any means, but those vermin she ate would be enough to sate her for the time being.

 _Scriff, scriff._ She scratched irritably, even as she absentmindedly wandered in the direction of distant noise and curious smells. That itch in her back was getting more annoying. It tingled unpleasantly.

Indy had no way of knowing, of course, that this itch was from a subdermal RFID tracking implant. All she knew was that it was irritating. Especially as she followed the smells and sounds and warmth down southward, slowly meandering her way to Jurassic World's park proper in search of someplace safe to sleep off her meal.

Eventually, she crossed a boundary she was not meant to cross, a radio perimeter rather like the invisible fences used in the gyrosphere valley.

Her implant, registering this, released a shock intended to deter her.

Indy yelped, startled. Then she growled, and doubled back confusedly.

Her itch hurt. Not like scratching too hard, either. Something else entirely.

She huffed, perplexed. Stepped forward again.

 _ZAP_ , the implant sent out another electrical pulse. For a smaller or more timid animal, this would have been enough to turn it back. But while Indy certainly stepped back, confused, it was not in defeat.

Irritation, rather.

She reached back and scratched, raking razor sharp talons over the afflicted spot. Stumbling forward unconsciously, she felt another shock, and her forelimb jerked, digging in.

Hisss!

Blood flowed from pierced flesh, warm fluid trickling over the scythe-like claws of a Therizinosaur.

Click.

Something was under her skin. Her claws tapped it.

Instinctively, Indy tore at it, the scratching reflex ingrained into countless vertebrates as a first line of defense against dermal parasites, blood suckers, and poisonous insects. She ripped out the foreign object, an entire hunk of flesh coming with it, and flung it down on the ground.

Blood trickled from her new wound, smearing against leaves.

She stepped forward, once more crossing the invisible boundary.

This time, there was no shock.

But then she heard a rumbling sound in the near distance, the mechanical growl of an internal combustion engine. Then the slightest rustling of leaves and splashing water, stealthy movement, and a sprawling mass of warmth low to the ground.

Indy hid herself in the foliage, cautious. Chromatophores in her skin adjusted to match the shade and hue of her surroundings, the confused, pained, and anxious Indominus hiding herself with just a touch of apprehension.

She felt vulnerable in her present state, and wary. She still had no idea what kind of animals might exist outside her former enclosure.

In lieu of certainty, she froze up and waited.

Curious, but cautious.

* * *

A/N: This was one of the original ideas I had for this little collection, deconstructing Indy's whole master escape. I'd intended all of this to be in the first chapter, at first, but that went its own way, and then the next two happened as well.

So here it is, in the fourth and probably penultimate installment of this thingy. Indy's great escape... nothing more than a series of coincidences?

And I do honestly think that half of the stuff from Indy's escape can be explained by general animal behavior, particularly the behavior of a young, intelligent animal raised in captivity, living a stressful life nearly devoid of social interaction or mental stimulus in too-small confines, and similar reactions to dermal or subdermal irritants.

In particular, that implant was designed to deliver shocks when she got to close to the park and other exhibits. Even a healthy animal might claw out such a thing, let alone one as psychologically messed up as poor Indy.

 **Updated:** 6-20-15

 **TTFN and R &R!**

– — ❤


End file.
